Here is the new and improved chapter nine. I think the number of words doubled. I made it longer and stuff, and changed the playlist a bit

Playlist for this chapter

Chasing Echoes: Katelyn Tarver

Together: Michelle Branch

Chapter 9: All Over Again

Emmett's POV

The room was empty. It looked like nobody had ever stayed in it. The bed was made, the desks polished. The only trace of previous activity in the room was the clothes filled closet and the guitar sitting on the bed. Other than that, the room looked unused. Bella had already left, so that meant that she might have been killed already.

"Alice, you said you could see her now, where is she?" Rosalie asked

"I can't see her anymore!" Alice said

"Then that means…." Aro said

"No…" Demitri said

"BELLA!" Edward yelled "NO! NO! NO!"

"She's dead" Alice said

"WHO KILLED HER?" Edward yelled "WHO DID THIS TO HER?"

"Calm down" I said

"Oh no" Esme said "I can't believe we're too late"

"Maybe she's still alive?" Carlisle said nervously "I mean, before you got the vision of her wanting to get killed, you couldn't see her at all, so perhaps your vision is slipping again?"

"YES!" Edward yelled "THAT IS A BETER EXPLANTION!" That kid would go with anything as long as Bella was alive. It almost made me want to laugh

"But then where is she?" Jasper asked

"I don't know" Aro said "I would've see her leave…"

"Well, maybe, let's figure out why Alice couldn't see her before" Carlisle said "Then we can fix the problem and find her"

"GOOD IDEA!" Edward yelled

"Stop yelling dear" Esme said

"She can block out mental abilities…" Aro said "But not physical, but she managed to block Alice out"

"Then perhaps it might be something that happens in her mind?" Carlisle said

"She was heartbroken…" Rosalie said "Maybe that's why Alice couldn't see her. She probably built walls around her to keep herself together"

"That would make sense, but then why did Alice see her all of a sudden?" Carlisle asked

"Maybe because her heartbreak went away?" Rosalie said

"Maybe what she feels isn't heartbreak that keeps Alice out…" Jasper said

"Then what would it be?" Carlisle asked

"Well, what was she feeling when she wanted to get killed?" Alice asked

"I wasn't there, I don't know" Jasper said

"Probably useless" Edward said "Or dead, like I felt when I thought she was dead"

"Yes!" Alice said "That's it, and then it went away when something happened…"

"Edward, what were you thinking about when Alice got the vision?" Carlisle asked

"I was thinking about how much I cared about her" Edward responded

"Then that's it!" Alice said "As long as the person she cares about most cares about her, I can see her!"

"Well then, start caring, bro!" I said "I wanna make sure my little sister is okay"

After about ten seconds, I could tell Alice was able to see Bella because her eyes glazed over, and she was smiling. I wonder what she saw

"Bella isn't dead!" Alice yelled

"THANK GOD!" Edward exclaimed "I HAVE TO FIND HER!"

"Alice, where is she?" Aro asked, getting worried by the second

"She's in a room, it's dark, I can't really see anything" Alice said "And then her future just disappears!"

"That means somebody kills her!" Jasper said

"Split up, people, and try to find her" Edward growled, tearing out of the room at speeds we never even imagined.

"Go!" Alice yelled, as we all broke up. I began running along the many corridors and halls of the place, searching for Bella. I tried to smell her, to maybe even hear her breathing. But there was nothing.

I ran up a flight of stairs, opening every door I saw, and listening, and smelling. I turned a corner and saw Edward holding a vampire's arms behind his back

"Who are you?" Edward growled "If you're here to kill someone, I'm going to kill you!"

"I work here!" The vampire that Edward was holding back exclaimed.

"Likely story!" Edward yelled "Tell the truth!"

"It is the truth!" the man said "How do I prove it to you?"

"Dude, just look into his mind" I said to Edward "If he does work here, we let him go, but if he's here to kill Bella, then he's gone"

"Bella!" The man said "I would never hurt her! She's Aro's daughter. Doing something to hurt her is like wishing for a death sentence!"

Edward let the guy go then looked him straight in the eye "I believe you for now, but I'm watching you" he said menacingly. Then turned to walk away.

"Watch your back" I growled to the man, as I walked off too.

Rosalie's POV

Where was Bella? I had looked all the places I could in the giant underground castle, but Bella wasn't anywhere. I bumped into Esme, and we decided to go and search together for Bella. But there wasn't a trace of her in sight.

"BELLA!" I yelled, hoping she would hear me "COME OUT!"

"BELLA!" Esme also yelled "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!"

"Any success?" I heard somebody from behind say. I turned to Jasper and sighed

"No" I mumbled "No trace of her at all"

"I didn't find anything either" Jasper said "It's a lost cause, Bella's gone"

"Don't say that!" Esme snapped "Let's go find her instead of sitting here and moping around!"

We began running through the castle again, looking for Bella. That girl was pretty good at hiding, she would be great at hide and seek—If only we could find her right now and stop her from making the mistake of her life. If she died, then Edward would surely die, leaving Esme depressed and Carlisle depressed because of that. Then Jasper would be depressed from the emotions, and we would all be depressed. Leading to a very depressed family, which was not good.

"BELLA!" I yelled again, but there was no response

We got to another set of doors, with Edward, Alice, Carlisle, Aro, Demetri, and Emmett in front of it.

"Did you guys check this one out yet?" Edward asked

"No" Aro said "But that's the storage room, I don't see why she would choose that place for death"

"What do you store in there?" Emmett asked

"Um, let's see. Gasoline for the cars, some matches, fire extinguishers, lighters, and coal" Aro said, then realization hit him "NO!"

"She wouldn't!" Carlisle exclaimed

"But it's the perfect room" I said, stepping forward "So lets just break the stupid thing open already!"

Edward kicked the door hard, and it opened. I rushed forward, as did Esme and Jasper. All of us were crowed around the door, trying to see what was inside, pushing each other and trying to get to the front.

"Is she in there?" I asked, unable to see through the heads

"No" Edward said, dropping to his knees "No, she isn't. She's dead, she's a pile of ashes, no, no, not Bella!" He rolled into a ball and began to sob

"She might not be dead yet" I said "Remember what she told you? To never give up hope that your loved one may still be around. She told you that Edward, now listen to her"

Edward stood up, still shaking, and looked at me "Your right" He said quietly "She did tell me that when I read the letter that she left me"

"Find her!" Alice yelled "I can't see her at all!"

We all ran together, like a stampede through the castle, feeling slightly more hopeful then before. Then we saw the smoke. The familiar smoke. The purple, sweet scented smoke of burning vampire, and Edward collapsed again

"NO!" He yelled, clutching his hair "NO! WE WERE TOO LATE!"

"No!" Alice yelled, falling down beside him, both of them sobbing like they would never run out of tears, or like somebody told them they had six days to live

"I can't believe this" Aro said, as he also lost all the enthusiasm he usually had and sobbed with them. Soon, all of us were on the floor, crying with no tears, and having feelings of never getting up—even me. Most people would say that I'm one of those people who never showed any compassion, and just didn't cry, and they were right, But this was a dead family member and a very depressed Jasper—I think that counts for a lot.

"Why is everybody crying?" We heard a soft voice say from behind us. I almost thought that I was hallucinating, but the voice spoke again "Somebody please answer me" This time we looked up at her and then began to sob again

"I'm hallucinating!" Edward cried

"God help me!" Alice yelled

"I can't do this anymore, I'm going crazy!" Demetri yelled

"What's going on!" The girl demanded

"Bella, you're supposed to be dead! We saw the smoke!" Aro said

"I'm still crazy!" Demetri yelled

"I'm not a hallucination!" Bella said "And I'm certainly not dead!"

"But we saw the smoke!" Aro said

"Do you want me dead?" Bella asked "Because it seems like it!"

"NO!" Edward yelled "NO! DON'T GO, STAY!" He was the first of us to get up and run towards Bella, grabbing her and holding on to her while sobbing into her shoulder. Bella awkwardly patted his back, probably feeling a bit strange about a female comforting a male

"It's real!" Edward yelled "It's real!"

Like those words woke something up in us, we all ran forward and hugged her, a giant group hug that would look very strange to anybody who didn't' know what was going on. We were all mumbling nonsense about how happy we were that she was alive

"Then what was that smoke?" Aro asked "We all thought it was you"

"Oh, I found somebody's arm left over from some previous battle hundreds of years ago and burned it to get rid of it" Bella said "I'm sorry for giving you the wrong impression"

"You have nothing to be sorry for" Edward said, picking Bella up and carrying her out of our hug "I'm the one who should say sorry for all the things I've ever done. Bella, I'm sorry for letting Danielle get to me twenty years ago. I should've been paying attention to her. Bella, I'm sorry for acting like I didn't want you after the wedding. I did, trust me, I just felt so wrong. Then I got a whole speech about how my chivalry got into the way and that I should do what my heart wants. Bella, Marissa was a rebound, I hope you know that. But you are my one true love. I'm sorry for everything that I've done to hurt you"

Bella was speechless after Edward's little ramble. I think I would be too if someone just gave me a huge apology like that.

"Edward…" Bella said, trying to find the right words to say "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry that I didn't stay around and get the whole story and just left all of you. I'm sorry that my self esteem was so low that I thought that you wouldn't want me. I'm sorry for wanting to get killed, and I almost called a pack of werewolves to do it, but luckily, the arm that I found held me back a bit"

"Bella, I'm so sorry" Edward said, hugging her

"No, I'm sorrier" Bella said 'This is all my fault"

"No it's mine" Edward said "And accept that it's mine. I never blamed you for anything. I love you"

"How do I know you mean that?" Bella asked "How do I know that you really do love me? Because I've had my doubts in the past"

"Bella, you just need to accept that" Edward said "You need to trust that you are worth loving, and that I love you"

"But I'm so…so….plain" Bella said "I've always been so plain and ugly"

"Bella, what am I going to do with you?" Edward asked "Bella, you're far from plain, you're the most beautiful thing in the world. You have to believe me. I love you Bella, I mean it when I say that, look at me, and tell me that I'm lying"

We all watched as Bella raised her eyes to Edward's, as they stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Then Edward broke their gaze by kissing her, crushing her to him

"Aw" Alice said

"That's so sweet" Demetri said "It makes me want to….gag"

"Does this mean that they will stay together?" Aro asked

"We have to trust that they will" I said "Because if we don't believe, then they'll end up being apart again"

After a long time, they finally broke apart

"Never leave me" Bella whispered "Can you make that promise and actually keep it?"

"I can" Edward said "The thing that holds love together is trust, and you must never think that you can't trust me"

"I love you" Bella said

"I love you too" Edward murmured

"I was expecting Bella to run away, and then Edward crumple and break down, and then someone goes to talk some sense into Bella, who would then find Edward out on a suicide mission" Emmett said "But this works too"

We all put our arms around our respective mates and smiled at the newly got back together couple. Those two were made for each other. Edward once told us that on September 13, 1987, he saw a shooting star, and he felt hopeful that day. And now, we all know why.

Emmett's POV (Again)

"Um, Aro" Somebody said, arriving at the door. I turned and saw Marcus

"What is it?" Aro asked "Please make it good news! I'm in such a good mood!" I wanted to scoff. Since when was Aro in a bad mood? Well, he was when he thought Bella was dead, but still…

"Well, apparently some human has stumbled upon this castle alone, should I bring him in?" Marcus asked "Felix found him wandering around, looking for a way out"

"Bring him here" Aro commanded. We all waited as Marcus left the room to go fetch Felix and the human, who hopefully didn't know our secret

"Here he is" Felix said, coming back to us one minute later, with a human. I turned and saw a man, in his fifties, with dark hair that was graying, a white dress shirt, tucked into jeans. Who the heck tucked shirts into jeans? He had a beer gut spilling out over his pants. It was all to familiar

"It's Tubby" Alice whispered to me. Well, isn't this just a coincidence?

"Who are you?" Aro asked "And what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for the John" Tubby said

"The John?" Aro asked

"The toilet, the restrooms, the washroom, whatever you people call it" Tubby said "My bladder is full, is that such a problem?"

"No…" Demetri said

"Good, then show me to a toilet before I explode" Tubby said

"Um, the nearest bathroom is down the hall, flush after you use it" Bella said

"Thank you, young lady, now please, let me go" Felix and Marcus released him and he ran off down the hall, his stomach bouncing with every step he took.

"Who the heck was that?" Demetri asked

"Tubby" I said "He's the father of the girl Edward was about to marry, and Sylvester erased his memory"

"Did someone say Sylvester?" Sylvester asked, walking up to us "You guys again, come for a refund?"

"No, it's just that they guy's memory you erased is here, looking for a latrine" I said, going back to formal and smart Emmett.

"That is so inconvenient how humans have to take dumps, don't you think?" Sylvester asked "Well, I'll be off, tell Tubby that Sylvester says hi"

Sylvester left us standing in the hallway, waiting for Tubby to finish his pee. How long did it take for a human to let the water loose? Finally, Tubby walked out of the restroom, wiping his hands dry on his pants

'Sorry for the delay, people, but I had to get rid of some bile" Tubby said 'So, I guess I'll be on my way now. No wait, I had business to do here"

"Business?" Aro asked "Tell us about this business"

"Well, I got a call from somebody saying that you guys had a problem with leeches, I came here to fix it, I work as an exterminator" Tubby said. Leeches?

"Who sent you?" Aro asked

"Some kid named Jacob Black" Tubby said "Told me to come to this place"

"Jacob" Bella said "Of course"

"Well, I'm afraid there are no leeches here" Carlisle said, hiding a smile

"It was a joke!" Bella yelled "Jacob called me a year ago, saying that he was going to play some prank on this place one day"

"You are still in touch with Jacob?" I asked

"Bella, that's not the best idea" Edward said

"When you are really good friends with somebody, you put aside all your differences" Bella said "Why should this case be any different. I haven't changed on the inside"

"Um, so there's no leeches?" Tubby asked "Because if there isn't, I'll be on my way, my daughter is curious about the engagement ring on her finger, and my wife is helping her figure out what happened"

"The ring!" I said, then immediately covered my mouth. Of course! We forgot about that. After Marissa's memory was wiped, we completely forgot to take off the ring she had on her finger. What a foolish mistake

"I'm sure she must've bought it and forgot about it" Carlisle said

"I'll buy it off of you for ten thousand dollars" Edward said "I'll give you the money now, just ship it to us"

"Ten thousand?" Tubby asked, letting out a whistle "That's more than I made a year! It's a deal"

"Great, now we would appreciate it if you would leave" Carlisle said

"I'll have Felix show you the exit" Aro said "Go on, leave"

Felix grabbed Tubby and led him away. Let's just hope Tubby doesn't become somebody's dinner.

"I'm glad everything's alright again" Bella said, breaking our silence

"Trust me, we all are" Rosalie said

And so we begin life like it was back then, again. I'm so ready for it

End of CHAPTER

So, beginning in the next chapter, the humor part of this story begins, and the Cullen's take the time to mess with Marissa's family a little. Please review, and I'll write the next chapter.

Thanks to all the people who reviewed this story so far. I'd love to get some suggestions for what you want to happen in this story. I don't think I can come up with that many. This whole story may be about 20-30 chapters long depending on how I feel, and how many ideas for chapters I get